Councillor raises impropriety claims against Sunshine Coast council

Allegations of impropriety surrounding the Sunshine Coast council's rebranding process have been referred to Queensland's Local Government Department for investigation.

Councillor Tim Dwyer alleges Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson wanted to directly appoint the local marketing and advertising firm that was involved in his election campaign to rebrand council.

Councillor Dwyer says the company Six Elements was invited to provide a presentation to councillors and received feedback during a question and answer session.

He says after concern was expressed with the process other companies were invited to apply but were not given the same opportunities and Six Elements became the preferred bid.

Councillor Dwyer says the process has been suspended amid concerns about a lack of transparency and proper protocols not being followed.

"The firm that did the presentation and got the brief and got the feedback, then applied through that procurement process, and therefore were starting on the 50- metre line in a 100-metre race when everyone else was back on the starting line, and therefore had an unfair advantage," he said.

"Highly inappropriate I feel and not fair to other firms on the Sunshine Coast that took the time to put a tender document in."

Councillor Dwyer says he is concerned due process, the Local Government Act, and council's procurement policy was not followed and staff were not informed.

"Not only that, but then have a push by a particular number of councillors to say that we must do this straight away, take it to the next council meeting and endorse it," he said.

"At that point in time raises a red flag to me straight away and I start to wonder what the motivation is to avoid due process and a transparency that gives confidence to the people of the Sunshine Coast."

'No role' in appointment

However, Councillor Jamieson says he had "no role" in the appointment of the company.

"The company is regarded as one of the leading brand specialists in Australia," he said.

"I don't think any reasonable person would suggest this company should never get council work because they did some paid work for me - I don't handle council's procurement.

"By that rationale, it would lead to a situation where council couldn't engage the printing firm I used, the billboard company, Channel 7 or WIN."

A council spokesperson says it has previously sought from a reputable local firm some preliminary ideas on branding opportunities.

"These ideas were considered by councillors," the spokesperson said.

"A decision was made to develop a full project scope for a branding project.

"Offers were sought from five firms and are currently under evaluation - no appointment has been made at this time.

"Any expenditure on the exercise would be from existing budgets.

"Any branding exercise would involve the successful company undertaking community consultation in the development of any future brand."

The spokesperson says the Council cannot confirm whether a formal complaint has been made.

"As you would understand, Council needs to treat any formal complaint with complete confidence - it can't even confirm whether or not one has been made," the spokesperson said.

CEO reappointment concern

Councillor Dwyer has also expressed concern about the process to reappoint chief executive officer John Knaggs last week.

It is understood Mr Knaggs has been reappointed on a package worth about $380,000.

Councillor Dwyer says Mr Knaggs' job should have been advertised on the open market to assure ratepayers they got the best person for the job.

He voted against the reappointment of Mr Knaggs - not because he thought he was not doing a good job - but wanted to see who else was available.

Councillor Dwyer says he is concerned Councillor Jamieson initially wanted to reappoint Mr Knaggs without having a vote at a statutory meeting of council.

"The Mayor thought that because he had conversations in isolation via the phone, which I call secret phone calls because I didn't know what any other councillor was saying," he said.

"To me that's not transparent and to tell me categorically that he would not be complying with the Local Government Act and taking it to a meeting for the Local Government to decide.

"Local Government can only make a decision when they're in a statutory meeting, not via phone calls."

Appropriate process done

However, Councillor Jamieson says Mr Knapps' reappointment has been done through an appropriate process.

"It's a contract for two years with a performance-based option for an additional two years," he said.

"Executive salary ranges are published in the annual report every year."

Councillor Jamieson says many councillors tell him they appreciate his "consultative and inclusive approach".

"They have also appreciated that discussion and debate can only get you so far - you also have to make decisions," he said.

"Councillor Dwyer may not always get the decisions he wants - but that hardly seems to be a good reason to complain about them being made.

"If he has any concerns he needs to be sit down with me and tell me face-to-face - my door is always open to him."